"Then send me elsewhere. I can still benefit the brotherhood."

"Perhaps. But there's something I'd like you to do, first," Seturna Odnard steepled his fingers and smiled at Tork.

"Name it and it will be yours," Tork nodded. He knew how precarious his position had become with Odnard and the others. He was lucky he wasn't already inside one of the temple's dungeons, awaiting torture of some kind. They all took pleasure in it—it was what drew them to the religion in the beginning.

"Good. We lost one of our brothers earlier tonight and several of our prisoners. We want you to kill the Director of the ASD—we feel he is behind this. Unusual for him to tip his hand so early, but perhaps he is playing a deeper game. We'd like him killed before the plan goes into full effect. Money is currently keeping the crown quiet. Eventually we'll control that, in addition to everything else here. Kill Norian Keef for me and you'll not have to worry about who your face resembles."

"How would you like him to die?"

"As painfully as possible."

"I think I can manage that." Tork gave a quick nod and left Odnard's study.

Odnard waited for a few moments before tapping a code into his private communicator. When it was answered, Odnard gave a short message. "I have a tail on the director—I expect him to be dead by tomorrow evening."

"Good," came the one-word answer.

* * *

Tork cursed quietly when he discovered the hotel information he'd been given led him on a false trail. The room was empty. The hotel staff informed him that a meeting was held there earlier, but no clothing remained, or any other indicator that the room had been occupied. He'd have to locate his contacts and do some tracking to find the target. He'd paid the hotel staff well for this information, too, which made him even angrier.

* * *

"Bring her here—I'll explain things," Ildevar Wyyld sounded frustrated.

"When, Deonus?" Norian wasn't sure what to think about this turn of events.

"As quickly as you can get her back. Arrange for a ship if you have to—it wouldn't hurt to leave things as they are on Trell for the moment. Let them worry that you'll strike again and when they can't find you, so much the better. Let them spend their energy trying to track you and the others down."

"Of course, Deonus." Norian nodded to the image on the vid screen. The screen went dark—Ildevar Wyyld terminated the communication from his end. Norian blew out a breath. He was about to find out if mindspeech would summon his little Queen.

Norian was worried, too, that he might have fractured any chance at a relationship with her. He'd always heard it wasn't a good idea to work with a mate or even a potential mate. That fact was staring him in the face and he didn't like the looks of it, if the truth were known. Lissa Beth? He sent out mindspeech. He was about to learn the truth, one way or another.

* * *

"We can afford to lose a few," Tetsurna Prylvis agreed with Viregruz. "None of mine suspect anything. You're sure this will be over quickly? Our target will not have time to escape?"

"Absolutely," Viregruz steepled his fingers. "How many do you have, there?"

"Less than three hundred. All easily replaced."

"I only have a handful, now—my main operatives died in the battle outside ASD Headquarters. At least the Vice-Director was killed. That was our objective, after all."

"Our people performed very well together," Prylvis agreed. "Their sacrifice will serve our purpose completely."

* * *

It had only been a few hours since I'd left in a snit. Honestly, I didn't expect him to come calling so quickly, yet the mindspeech reached me in some far-off corner of the universes. I knew he wasn't in trouble with the senses I had while I was energy. I'd told him I'd answer his call, so I kept that promise. "What do you need, Norian Keef?" I appeared in front of him only a few seconds after he'd sent out the call. He looked somewhat frazzled to me, but then he'd pissed me off, so I wasn't about to go to him and try to make him feel better.

"Lissa Beth, we've been called to Wyyld—Deonus Wyyld wishes to speak with you," Norian informed me.

"Oh, so they want to give me my walking papers already?" I wasn't in a charitable mood to begin with and this just made it worse.

"Breah-mul, I don't think they have any intentions of doing that. Deonus Wyyld wants to talk to you. Maybe set your fears at rest over this. Honestly, I had no idea you thought we were blackmailing you."

"What was I supposed to think, Norian? You walked into my palace like you owned the place and started throwing orders around. Tell me how else to respond to that? I have a lot of people on Le-Ath Veronis who came, simply because we were members of the Alliance. I have no desire to let them down after we persuaded them to come."

"Lissa, there's a ship waiting to take us as soon as we can get to the space station. No, I don't want you to take us in that way you have," he raised a hand to hold off the comment I was about to make. "Rych and I will come with you, if you're worried about Ildevar Wyyld."

"I'm not worried for me," I grumped. "Am I supposed to pack up?" I turned toward my bedroom inside the suite.

"Rych already did that for you. He and our bags are waiting at the station."

"Not wasting any time, then," I muttered, turning back to him.

"Cheah-mul, I would like nothing better than to erase this night from both our minds. All I want is to come and hold you against me and that's the last thing I think you want right now."

"Norian, do not try to make me feel guilt over this. Do not," I said and folded both of us to the space station.

The trip took twelve hours and I didn't speak to Norian or Rych the entire time. We arrived on Wyyld in the middle of the night, so we were taken to a guesthouse outside the palace and allowed to go to bed. I guess we'd gotten three hours' sleep—if we slept—I kept waking up, thinking it was because I was so angry with Norian. I should have Looked. Should have. Would it have changed anything? Probably not, because any interference on my part would have definitely changed the timeline and that was forbidden. It didn't keep me from screaming and cursing, not only at Norian and anybody else I could think of, but at myself as well, for not being there to do what little I might have been able to do when Black Mist blew Trell to tiny bits with a Ranos Cannon.

* * *

"How can you stand there calmly, when six-hundred-million people just died?" I was shouting at Belen and Kifirin now, who'd both shown up. Norian was afraid to approach me when I started having my fit, and I was worried that I might be forced to reimburse Ildevar Wyyld for rebuilding the inside of his guesthouse. I'd shredded the place.

"Avilepha, you had no control over this. Those people would have died, whether through this attack or due to another cause. Be assured that the decisions the Trellian aristocracy made had them well on their way to destruction. Whether it was now or in ten years' time, it would not have mattered." Kifirin was holding a hand out to me.

"But this is my fault." I sat on what was left of my bed and tried to stop shaking and crying.

"Little sister, you did not order those deaths. One whose soul is filled with hate did that," Belen said. "What you need to see to now is the one who revealed your location to your enemies. This came from Le-Ath Veronis, beloved. You must find the source before you consider going back there."

"Someone gave out that information?" Norian was about to become outraged. "But only those at the palace knew. Her mates and such."

"Then start the questioning with them," Belen said. "Do not weep, little one. No one holds you accountable for this." Belen's face, normally serene, looked weary to my eyes, but then I was busy wiping tears away, so what did I know? Six-hundred-million—including the children I'd pulled away from Solar Red—all gone now, in a matter of moments. Belen folded away, but Kifirin stayed behind. He put the guesthouse back together—I wasn't going to do it. Ildevar Wyyld had called me away from Trell and I wasn't smart enough to watch over the place after I left it. This was my fuck up.

"Avilepha, listen to me—you will know when the time is right for you to act on such things—it is the way you were made," Kifirin was kneeling in front of me after fixing what I'd destroyed in the guesthouse. "You were restless, yes, but it was not calling out to you as it should have been, if you needed to help. Stop blaming yourself, my love." He raised a hand to touch my face and I didn't jerk away from him. Norian didn't want to leave, I could tell, but Rych, who could now use his old name again if he wanted, pulled him away and left Kifirin and me alone.

"Kifirin, how many times are we going to make love when I'm still crying?" I sniffled as he got me settled on the bed.

"As many times as it takes," he murmured and brushed his mouth over mine.

* * *

Kifirin was gone the second time I woke; it was late afternoon when I jerked upright in bed with a gasp. Kifirin must have put me in a healing sleep to keep me down that long. I heard Norian and Lendill talking in the tiny kitchen down the hall. Hoping that the people of Trell hadn't suffered when they died, I slid off the bed and forced myself to clean up and dress.

"Look who's awake," Lendill said.

"Can I call you Lendill, now, or are you sticking with the other name?" I sounded grumpy, even to my own ears. How was I supposed to be? Sunshine and light?

"You can call me anything you want, little Queen." Lendill nodded to me. "Would you like something to eat?"

"I really don't feel like eating," I muttered. I got tea and toast anyway, and Norian watched me closely until I nibbled on the toast. Ungratefully, I admitted to myself that our argument was now moot—it didn't matter anymore that our cover was blown. "How many of yours did you lose, Norian?" I asked instead.